History

The closest you can come to the Last Frontier, is here with Pioneer Outfitters 

Pioneer Outfitters was founded in 1924.  Chisana is hidden deep within the Wrangell Mountains and is only accessible by air. It was once the largest log cabin settlement in the state and the site of the last historic gold rush. Old log cabins, gold rush artifacts and flumes, remains of an era gone by are locked in this land for ever. The Wrangell St. Elias National Park & Preserve hosts thousands of tourists and visitors each year, who come to see this magnificently beautiful National Park.
 The Wrangell St. Elias is our Nation’s largest National Park.  In 1978, it was designated a National Monument, in 1979, it was designated a World Heritage Site and in 1980 it was designated National Park and Preserve.  The Wrangell St. Elias is over 20,000 square miles, over 9,000 acres of which are pure undisturbed wilderness. 

Snow capped peaks climbing over 18,000 feet, rich, lush, green valley’s alive with over 1000 different flora and fauna types with the many colors of wild flowers to add dimension and depth to the overall beauty of the vast arctic tundra, 48 mammals ranging in size from the tiny shrew to the giant Alaska- Yukon moose, 239 different birds and so much more.  The greatest concentration of glaciers in North America, 25% of this vast Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve is covered by glacial ice.  Incredible glaciers that you can explore as you walk across.  However, the vast majority of all the visitors and adventurers see only the south west side of this tremendously vast Park. The many tourist facilities that are available as well as the road system in much of that area make access so easy.  Very few tourists or adventurers ever get to see or experience the north-east side of the glacial divide that separates the south-west Wrangells from the north-east Wrangell’s and the incredible Nutzotin Mountains that extend all the way to the Canadian border. This is Pioneer Outfitters’ country. The world is changing and has been changing for a long time.  We here, at Pioneer Outfitters in Chisana, especially those that have been here for a long time know that not everything changes and we would like to share that with you. Pioneer Outfitters has made its living as horse outfitters from it’s birth. Taking those generations of living in this enormous wilderness and using them to show you all there is to be seen and to help you safely experience all the wonders it has to offer. Pioneer Outfitters would like to invite you to share and experience the wilds of Alaska with us. 

Take a horse pack trip through the wilderness and across tundra in Alaska’s most beautiful and America’s largest National Park. History of Pioneer Outfitters…. Since 1924…When Canadian and Alaskan frontiersmen Lou Anderton & Co. started Pioneer Outfitters with horse trips to the Bonanza Creek to pan for gold and sightseeing and Spring Bear Hunts, they couldn’t have known the legacy they were building.  

Our trips are designed with the client’s capabilities and wishes in mind.  From day trips to gentle pack trips to glacier walks and cross country roving pack trips…and everything in between.  Here, at home in Chisana, you are treated like part of the family, delicious home cooked meals, warm cabins and hot showers, every satellite TV station you can imagine and hundreds of movies on the shelves, and wireless internet are available. When you are on your trip and away from home we have long established camps to stay at. Waking in the morning and stepping outside to see the morning light on the glacier or watching the sun hit the snow peaked mountains in the evening light.

 Whichever trip you choose will be etched in your mind and being forever.  We are in the memory business, let us be part of one of yours. An Insight….Master Guide Terry Overly, “The Youngest Old Timer in Alaska”, takes Alaska, Chisana, Pioneer Outfitters, family and his clients to heart.  It has been a steadfast basis for us all (his guides), being a pack trip guide isn’t just about riding a horse around, being a hunting guide isn’t just about killing…it is the entire trip that counts…the fickle finger of fate and all that.  Summer Trips are photo safaris and hunting is a recipe, with luck, chance and some experience and knowledge mixed in with the spice that comes from pairing the client to the guide; the result is a perfect memory in the making. 

 Pioneer Outfitters’ guides train and become guides, learning the ways of the past while learning rivers, mountains, horses, Alaska’s predictably- unpredictable weather, and when they are guides, they stay, with Pioneer Outfitters…anywhere else ends up being less. Terry Overly’s guides are known for their experience and commitment to preserving a way of life that does still hold strong in some parts of our world.  

Welcome to the Last Frontier  we look forward to seeing you in it.  Adventures that you could be a part of instead of just reading about coming your way.